New Canaan man looks to auction service to help sell estate

Ben Holbrook, bholbrook@bcnnew.com

Updated 4:19 pm, Friday, September 30, 2011

The auction for the Laurel Road estate will be held Oct. 20 and go to the highest bidder.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The auction for the Laurel Road estate will be held Oct. 20 and go...

The electronic golf course was included in the field house design at the behest of one of Hawes' daughters who is married to an avid golfer
Photo: Contributed Photo

The electronic golf course was included in the field house design...

The spiral stairase which runs from the top floor of the field house to the bottom was made in Colorado and was built with extra wide steps because most spiral staircases were too narrow.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The spiral stairase which runs from the top floor of the field...

Hawes decided to auction his estate after seeing it sit on the market for a year so he and his wife could move to Idaho to be closer to family.
Photo: Contributed Photo

Hawes decided to auction his estate after seeing it sit on the...

The trout pond located behind the house is one of Hawes' favorite aspects of the property.
Photo: Contributed Photo

As the real estate market continues to stagnate, auctioneering services are becoming increasingly popular to sell property quickly.

Concierge Auctions is a New York City-based real estate firm that focuses solely on selling luxury estates. Vice President of Marketing at Concierge Laura Brady said a trend has begun to develop where property owners seek help from auction firms.

"There are two major reasons why a client will come to us. The first reason is the current state of the market. The client wants to guarantee the property will sell and the second factor is our success at creating more opportunities for the property to be sold," she said.

When attempting to sell a property through an auction, Brady said there are typically three types of buyers who are considered. The first is a local person who has seen the property before and has knowledge of what it looks like. The second type of buyer is usually looking in the general Fairfield County area but not in a specific town. Finally, the last type of buyer is not necessarily someone who is looking for property at the time of the auction but is included in a database of people who could be interested in making a purchase.

"There have definitely been fluctuations in the market and I think there are two pieces to be considered when selling a property. You need a good environment for the buyers and you need to select the right property," Brady said.

New Canaan resident Rodney Hawes recently contacted Concierge to have them sell his 6.5-acre estate. For Hawes, the decision to have the property go to auction was a result of his desire to move to Idaho where he can be closer to his family.

"We have a house in Idaho that has been sitting empty for a year and it's time to move," he said. "All of our family and my businesses are out there so we decided it's time to go."

The property on Laurel Road was on the market for a year, but after getting only a handful of views from interested buyers, Hawes decided it was time to sell the property as soon as possible.

"This is such a unique property," he said. "We have four buildings including a fieldhouse which has a basketball court, personal cinema, bowling alley and a game room. We chose Concierge because we knew the timing was right, there was certainty the sale would be done and everyone would get a fair price."

Hawes has owned the property for 30 years and said he can walk away from it happy knowing it went to a good buyer.

"We just need people to come out here and see it," he said. "It's so unique and the photos really don't do it justice."

One of his favorite aspects of the property, not including the fieldhouse which he personally designed, is the fully stocked trout pond behind his house.

"We like to do a little catch and release and the grandkids love to see the fish jumping when we feed them," he said.

Hawes, who has six children and 25 grandchildren, made sure there was always space for everyone when they would come to visit.

Even though this is the first property Hawes has had auctioned, he said he and his wife had spent a great deal of time at art auctions.

"We love to collect art, so we have attended a number of auctions and that helps to familiarize us with the process," he said.

Even after all the years and time spent designing the property the way he likes, Hawes said he realized "we need to get it done and get it done now."

For those interested in the property, open houses are held daily from 1-4 p.m. and by appointment. The auction is scheduled for Oct. 20 and the property will go to the highest bidder.